This Friday, August 7th at 7 PM, the independent Druskininkai cultural space “Lelija” opens its doors to the group contemporary art exhibition “What will people say?”, inviting a dialogue about the body – as an intersection of personal experience, identity, and societal expectations.
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The exhibition curator, artist Ieva Bernotaitė, explains that the exhibition’s title comes from the well-known phrase “What will people say?” not by chance: “This phrase, especially in smaller communities, becomes an invisible regulator determining what we allow ourselves to show, what we speak about loudly, and what we keep silent about.”
Body themes: from faith, intimacy to power
“The body in art has been explored from the earliest times to today. It is painted, photographed, sculpted, touched, and transferred into different roles and contexts. In some works, the body reveals itself as an intimate, erotic image; in others – a religious artifact, part of a ritual, a political or cultural message,” says the exhibition curator.
The exhibition presents works by ten contemporary Lithuanian artists. These are creators from different generations reflecting current issues of contemporary society and not avoiding controversial topics. From painting and photography to jewelry, ceramics, and installation – the exhibition’s exhibits examine the transformation of religious symbols, the construction of the body as a sign of power and identity, intimacy, love, social norms, and society’s gaze on the individual.
The exhibition will feature works by Domas Glatkauskas, Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė, Vytautas Tomaševičius, Algimantas Rokas Černiauskas, Elena Laurinavičiūtė, Ieva Bernotaitė, Kotryna Onaitytė, Kipras Černiauskas, Augustė Tomkutė, and Emilija Baležentienė.
During the exhibition opening, artist Algimantas Rokas Černiauskas will draw a nude model, and visitors will be invited to become part of this process – to join the drawing, meet the artists and curator, and explore the exhibition together.
The body as a space for discussion
One of the exhibition participants, jeweler and artist Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė, will present her latest work “The Pope’s Ring,” reflecting the transformation of religious symbols in contemporary culture. “It is important for me to talk about religious symbols not as a closed system of dogmas but as living cultural signs that change along with society. ‘The Pope’s Ring’ is a bodily religious artifact but also an invitation to rethink faith, identity, and our relationship with established symbols,” says the artist.
The exhibition features works by Kotryna Onaitytė that will take visitors back to the bodybuilding culture of the 1990s when the body became a symbol of status and power. “The depicted bodybuilder is a character from the 90s, and I consciously recreated his muscular body from a soft, stuffed sock. I am interested in how a symbol of power can become grotesque and at the same time reveal its artificiality,” says K. Onaitytė.
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Young artist Kipras Černiauskas will present his painting “You Know” from the series “ANHEDONIA,” which explores how technology and pop culture change love, intimacy, and interpersonal relationships. “This series was born from personal experience but gradually became a story about a much more universal feeling. I am interested in the boundary where hedonism turns into anhedonia, and a personal love story becomes recognizable to everyone,” says the author.
The exhibition also features the curator Ieva Royus (Bernotaitė)’s work “Mary Magdalene” – a drawing and altar installation intertwining themes of the body, religion, sexuality, and ritual. Using contemporary iconography of Mary Magdalene, the artist explores the representation of the female body, the concept of holiness, and the transformation of religious imagery. “Both contemporary art and religion create rituals and situations that affect our gaze, body posture, attention, and relationship with what we experience. They exchange functions – people go to contemporary art spaces to meditate, and tourists thirsty for art, not the Eucharist, flock to churches,” says I. Bernotaitė.
Exhibition program: music, literature, and open discussions
During the exhibition, from August 7 to 28, other accompanying events will take place at the Druskininkai cultural space “Lelija.” On August 14, the rap group “Despotin Fam” will perform here. Not afraid to speak about uncomfortable topics and provoke listeners, the group has been stirring discussions in the Lithuanian music scene for several years. Irony, social criticism, and themes often left on the margins of public conversation are important in “Despotin Fam”‘s work – naturally extending the questions raised by the exhibition “What will people say?” about societal reactions, boundaries, and what is considered acceptable.
“All cities are beautiful, all fans are equal, but some…” – this is how the rappers introduce their performance in Druskininkai, inviting to a concert featuring songs from the albums “Good News” and “Butterflies.” The evening will also feature performances by BASTA TGTK and NEVIDONAS.
On August 20, the literary project “Salty Words” event will take place at “Lelija,” during which the latest poetry book “Sticky Bodies” by sociologist, cultural researcher, and poet Artūras Tereškinas (published by “Kitos knygos”) will be presented. Questions of corporeality, identity, and social norms, revealed both in the exhibition and literary evenings, invite a look at contemporary culture from different perspectives.
The group contemporary art exhibition “What will people say?” at the Druskininkai cultural space “Lelija” will run until August 28. Admission to the exhibition is free.
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Address: Kudirkos St. 39, Druskininkai.
